Matching
by Alanna official
Summary: Pure fluff. A family Christmas between Phil and Melinda and their three children, Jemma, Leo and Daisy. Based on the prompt of 'Philinda as parents to Daisy and Fitzsimmons with a holiday theme', made for the Philinda Secret Santa.


**Author's Note:** **This is unbetaed so all errors are mine. To my secret santa jelllybears, I hope you like it :)**

* * *

"You know these look absolutely terrible right?" Melinda says as she turns to look at him, eyebrow raised and disapproval evident in the downturn of her lips.

He shrugs nonplussed as he continues with his task of folding the sweaters that have his wife so horrified.

"I think they're fun," is all he says with a happy little smile.

She rolls her eyes but says nothing more as she continues to hand him each sweater to be folded and placed in the box for their separate owners. Despite his partner's obvious disgust for the holiday themed sweaters that he had so carefully selected and ordered, Phil is unaffected as he hums a carol quietly under his breath, hands deftly folding the bright red and green woolen garment. It's almost Christmas, just one more sleep, and with their rather substantial brood, he doubts whether he and Melinda will be able to catch much sleep what with staying up late to put presents under the tree and an indefinite early start to the day with excited children bouncing into their room..

They've just finished wrapping up the boxes with the sweaters and hiding them away when their is a quiet knock on their bedroom door followed by a tuft of dark hair popping around the door as a pair of big brown eyes peer up at them. After a close call last year with an excited youngster on Christmas eve, both Melinda and Phil had learnt to keep presents hidden at all times unless they were enroute to the tree.

"Mummy? Daddy?" The young four year old asks.

"Daisy, what are you doing up little one?" Melinda turns around scooping up her youngest child in her arms.

"Can't sleep," the little girl mumbles as a small hand comes up to rub at her tired eyes.

"I think someone's just very excited for Christmas don't you?" Phil says with a soft smile as comes over to his wife and daughter, brushing a hand gently over his little girl's hair as she rests the side of her head against her mother's shoulder. "You look tired though sweetie," he tells his youngest daughter as her little eyes blink rapidly as she tries hard not to fall asleep.

"I not tired," she manages to say through a yawn, to which both of her parents chuckle a moment before her mum jostles her lightly and moves towards their bedroom door.

"I think you should be able to get to sleep now little one," she says softly, pressing a kiss to the side of her daughter's head.

Little Daisy merely mumbles something incoherent as she snuggles in closer to her mothers shoulder, seeking out the warmth of her body. Her parents share a look over the top of her dozing head before her mother leaves the room, a gentle expression on her face as she glances down at her youngest child. Already four years old, it feels like only yesterday that she was but a tiny baby cradled in her arms, all pink and squirmy with a soft headful of dark hair. Walking into Daisy's room, she folds back the rumpled bed sheets before placing the little girl in the bed. Making sure that her daughter's favourite stuffed whale is placed snugly in her little one's arms, she tucks the blankets around her child before pressing a warm kiss to her forehead. With one last lingering look over her sleeping child, Melinda leaves the door half open before she heads off to check on her other two children. Sticking her head through the doorway, she finds both Jemma and Fitz asleep, the latter being a surprise. Usually her little man is wide eyed and trying to find a way to weasel his way out of bedtime, especially on Christmas eve. Such a little rascal, and learning to be quite persuasive - just like his father. The thought pulls a sardonic smile to her lips just as a strong pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"All of them are sleeping," her husband whispers in her ear, "it must be a Christmas miracle."

She lets out a quiet huff of amusement as she turns around in his arms, wrapping her own loosely around his neck. Pressing a quick kiss to his lips, she breaks free from his arms before making her way towards their room.

"Santa's still got a work to do before play," she tells him with a cheeky wink as she disappears through the doorway.

Shaking his head at his wife's sense of humour, he follows after her to make sure that all of the presents are placed under the tree for their children come Christmas morning.

* * *

He's vaguely aware of the warm tingling sensation of Melinda tracing patterns with her fingertips on his chest as he is slowly roused from sleep.

"Phil honey, the kids will be up soon," his wife tells him in a gentle voice as she places a kiss on his jaw which is lined with a layer of stubble.

"Mmmm," is his only response as he refuses to open is eyes and instead tightens the arm he currently has around her waist, holding her closer to him.

She lets out a short, quiet breath of laughter as she lets him tug her closer, content to just bask in the unbroken silence of the early morning with the man she loves.

"Merry Christmas Phil," she says softly, a whisper against the skin of his throat.

His blue eyes slowly blink open at that as he gazes down at the beautiful woman in his arms. Ducking his head down as she tilts her up towards him, he captures her lips with his own in a slow and languid kiss. After several moments they part, foreheads resting against each other as they share air.

"Merry Christmas Melinda," he whispers back, his lips brushing softly against hers.

He feels her smile against him as their lips meet in another kiss.

They're simply cuddling in bed when they hear the telltale sign of little feet slapping against the hardwood floors. Moments later they are bombarded with small children as the door pops open and their three young ones bound into the room with big grins and giggles as they all pile onto the bed squishing in between their parents.

"KWISSMAS!" Their little Daisy squeals with excitement clapping her two tiny hands together, a wide grin on her face.

"Yes it is sweet pea," Phil smiles as he reaches an arm around her as well as Jemma and Leo who are grinning beside her, whilst Melinda reaches across from the other side of them encasing their children in a warm group hug.

"Can we open presents now?" A curly little head pops up out of the hug, mischievous little eyes looking between both parents with barely bridled excitement.

"Hmm…" Phil teases for a moment pretending to think about the question, "well I suppose so since we're all up anyway."

All three children cheer with happiness before scrambling off the bed hurriedly in a race out of the room and down the stairs to the large tree in the living room with presents piled at its base. Their parents follow at a leisurely pace as they descend the stairs in a more civilised manner. Young Leo has already upended the contents of his stocking in the floor in front of him and their eldest daughter Jemma is busy organising the presents into piles for each family member they are addressed to. Daisy however is busy rifling through each present Jemma places on her pile, little hands picking up wrapped items and shaking them as if she might learn their contents purely by ear. Melinda is unable to hide her laughter at the antics of her youngest and she encourages the children to tear into the festive wrapping as her husband sits down next to her on the couch passing her a hot cup of tea as he sips his coffee. Daisy is a flurry of action with paper flying everywhere as she tears into the wrapping of her presents. Her older brother Leo is not far behind as he reveals a build your own race car set, his mouth running a mile a minute as he begins talking about all the modifications he could make to improve its performance. Jemma unwraps her presents with more patience than her two younger siblings though Leo always likes to add that it is only six minutes between them. Her little face lights up with delight however as she unwraps a new chemistry lab set that comes with its very own microscope. She wraps her little arms around both parents as she thanks them for the present she's been wanting for half the year, making both parents smile as they share a knowing look over the top of her head. Their little scientist was incredibly persistent and entirely lacking in subtlety when it came to dropping hints.

Just watching her children enjoy their Christmas morning as they unwrap and gasp at all their presents, Melinda feels a warm sense of contentment as she leans back to rest against her husband's chest. Phil wraps an arm around her waist and presses a kiss just behind her ear as they sit together happy to watch their children indulge in the magic of Christmas. When their three little rascals present each of them with some familiar looking boxes Melinda barely manages to contain her eye roll as she can practically feel Phil grinning smugly behind her. Untying the ribbon and lifting the lid, she is faced with the garish red and green sweater that her husband had so lovingly chosen with a giant gingerbread man staring back at her. Lifting it out of the box, she smiles at the excited faces of the children as they too hold up their own identical Christmas sweaters. She can feel the rumble of Phil's chest as he chuckles at the scene, and she has to admit that the kids do look pretty cute being all excited to have matching sweaters.

After breakfast, they send the kids upstairs to get dressed as they clean up the kitchen and the mess in the living room from wrapping paper and packaging. Finished with tidying up the living room somewhat, Melinda ducks upstairs to get dressed as well whilst Phil continues on in the kitchen humming carols under his breath. When their little ones come rushing down the stairs in a blur of red and green it makes his heart swell with how adorable they all look like a tiny set of Christmas babushka dolls. Finishing wiping down the counter, he tells Jemma he'll be upstairs and their mother will be down soon as he also goes to get dressed for the day.

Walking into the master bedroom he is greeted with a sight that makes a warm sensation travel through his body and his breath hitch slightly. His wife looks at him in the mirror with a small smirk lifting the corner of her lips.

"You did this on purpose," she accuses narrowing her eyes at him.

He is unable to hide his grin, however, shrugging his shoulders unapologetically as he moves forward to blanket her body with his as he wraps his arms around her waist and rests his chin on her shoulder.

"I know you like it big," he teases nuzzling at her neck, his stubble scratching at her skin lightly.

She lets out a huff of laughter at his words but tilts her head slightly to give him better access as he presses soft kisses along her jawline.

"I am swimming in this thing," she tells him only slightly breathless making him chuckle against her skin.

"I know," he whispers, stubble rasping across her sensitive skin, "that's what makes you look so cute."

"Cute!" She exclaims slapping him but with little effect as the oversized sleeves of her sweater land dully on his shoulder.

He only laughs and holds her tighter as she crosses her arms and refuses to look at him in the mirror. Her a couple of sizes too big sweater however ruins the effect and only makes her look cuter in his eyes.

"Melinda…" he whines after several moments of silence.

Her eyes flicker over to him for a moment as he pulls his best puppy dog eyes before she relents.

"I am not cute," she turns around and slaps him again with the loose hanging end of her sleeve.

"Sure babe, sure," he agrees wrapping his arms around her in a hug and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She resists only slightly before melting into his arms snuggling in closer and burying her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his comforting scent. They spend a few quiet moments together before Melinda leaves him with a quick kiss as she goes back downstairs to keep an eye on the children whilst Phil gets dressed.

Walking down the stairs and into the living room he finds his wife watching over their children with a smile as their youngest shows her some new toy and the twins chatter away together about another new experiment they plan to conduct with theirpresents. Looking down at the matching family sweater he wears and at the family he has sitting there together in the living room, he can't think of any better Christmas - regardless of how many times Melinda tells him that the sweaters are an eyesore.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I apologise for the absolute lack of plot. If you didn't hate it please let me know :/**


End file.
